Constructing the ultimate “leftover women”: Chinese media’s representation of female PhDs in the postsocialist era

ABSTRACT

Although China’s “leftover women” phenomenon has drawn much attention academically in recent years, there is a lack of clarification of the diversity within these largely “demonized” women. This study is particularly interested in the female PhDs in postsocialist China since they are supposed to exemplify women’s empowerment but still end up being the common target of patriarchy. Therefore, this study not only examines patterns and implications of Chinese mass media’s representation of female PhDs, but also analyzes how media coverage of them has reflected the Chinese authorities’ strategic dissemination and consolidation of patriarchal power and ideologies in a postsocialist context intermingled with neoliberalism. In the end, the study discusses China’s discursive marginalization and eugenic concerns regarding female PhDs, as well as the causes of the lack of collective negotiation within these women.

KEYWORDS:

• Leftover women
• female PhD
• postsocialism
• China
• media representation

Acknowledgments

I want to thank the two anonymous reviewers for generously providing me with helpful advice and suggestions. I also want to thank Dr. Eve Ng at the School of Media Arts and Studies, Ohio University, for advising me during the preliminary stage of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. “Third gender” here is different from LGBTQ studies’ uses of the term to refer to gender identities outside of the normative binary, but is an ill-intentioned statement carried out in a joking tone.

2. “Socialist Core Values” (or “Core Socialist Values”) was a set of moral principles summarized by the Chinese central government in 2012, consisting of: prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, the rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendliness (China Daily, 2017).

3. Roughly from 1973 to 1975 (towards the end of the Cultural Revolution), there was an “Anti-Lin (Biao), Anti-Confucius” propaganda campaign in China agitated by the political conflict within the leadership board.

4. The word “retroductable” here is translated from German “nachvollziehbar.” It means that analyses “should be transparent so that any reader can trace and understand the detailed in-depth textual analysis” (Gavin Kendall 2007).

5. DINK is the acronym for “dual income, no kids.”

6. Chi-ling Lin is a famous female model in Taiwan.

Additional information

Funding

This work was sponsored by Shanghai Pujiang Program.

Notes on contributors

Xiaomeng Li

Xiaomeng Li is an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University. She earned her PhD degree in Mass Communication at the School of Media Arts and Studies, Ohio University, USA. Her research interests and published works include the politicization of the Internet memes, the “leftover women” phenomenon in China, women and nationalism, and fandom culture.